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1995 Oklahoma City Bombing
The Oklahoma City Bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. It is one of the deadliest acts of domestic terrorism in history, with 168 deaths and injuring over 600 people. The orchasraters were Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols and they caused damage to over 300 structures. This impacted the focus on right wing extremism and anti-terroism efforts from United States security teams. -
1998 Monica Lewinsky Scandal and impeachment trail for Clinton
Monica Lewinsky was a young intern at the White House. From 1995 to 1998, Lewinsky and Bill Clinton engaged in a sexual relationship. When the news broke, Clinton denied the allegations under oath. Later, Clinton had to admit to the relationship. Clinton was put on trial to be impeached on perjury before a grand jury and obstruction of justice. Clinton remained in office till his second term ended. The publics trust in poltics dropped. -
1999 Columbine High School Shooting
A shooting occurred at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The attackers were Eric Harris, who was 18, and Dylan Klebold, who was 17. Around 11 AM, they began shooting students outside and then moved inside. They killed 13 people, one teacher and 12 students, and injured over 20. About an hour after the shooting started, the two boys took their own lives. After this tragedy took place, school safety increased, and it started a national debate on gun safety. -
2001 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
The terrorist group al-Qaeda hijacked four planes. They crashed two of the planes into the twin towers, the third into the Pentagon, and the fourth plane was headed for D.C., but passengers fought back and crashed in Pennsylvania. About 3,000 people were killed, and thousands more were injured. Victims included civilians, firefighters, police, and airline passengers. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan to fight against the Taliban. A new agency and policies was created to protect the country. -
2005 Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, specifically New Orleans. It was a category three hurricane with winds up to 125 mph. It was one of the deadliest hurricanes in history. It caused damage all along the coast. There was a lot of flooding, and over 1,800 people died. Millions lost their homes to the hurricane, and it caused over $100 billion in damage. People blamed the government and their slow response to the issue. It also caused an improvement in the emergency plans. -
2008 Election of Barack Obama
The democratic opponent, Barack Obama, won against the republican candidate, John McCain, in the presidential election. Obama won the popular and electoral vote. This made him the first African American president in U.S. History. He chose John Biden as his Vice President. He focused on hope and change in his campaign. He wanted to fix the economy and improve healthcare. This was a historical moment in America in racial progress and the biggest voter turnout in 50 years. -
2011 US Military Withdrawal from Iraq
The Iraq War, which had originally started in 2003. The U.S. invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein and search for weapons of mass destruction. This was a promise that Obama had made and upheld. There were over 4,400 deaths and a cost of over 1.9 trillion dollars for the U.S. This allowed for veterans to come home. Many people were divided on whether the U.S. should have left or stayed. After the U.S. left, the violence of the terrorists increased. -
2013 Boston Marathon Bombing
The Boston Marathon Bombing occurred near the finish line of the marathon in Boston, MA. The attackers were two brothers named Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. They created two homemade bombs that exploded about four hours into the race, the same time a lot of runners were finishing. Three people were killed, but over 260 people were injured, and many lost limbs. This event led to an increase in security at public events and a rise in concern about terrorist groups and plans within the U.S.